


rules

by nothange



Series: red desert [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dom/sub Undertones, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, M/M, Masturbation, Porn With Plot, Temperature Play, eren being oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:28:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29179494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothange/pseuds/nothange
Summary: Levi's hands on his hips tighten their grip once again, head moving to the side in order to get away from his lips. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice tight and struggling to come out with no layer of shock attached to it.Eren pulls away enough to come face to face with him, maintaining their eyes on the same level as he says clearly; “Enjoying the moment.”
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Series: red desert [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106204
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	rules

Eren sinks in his bed at the sound of birds chirping by his window. The noise dulls the sleep out of him, pushing it through his mind and soon his eyes crack towards the blinds over the glass, barely seeing any ray of sunshine into the sky. He groans, rolling to his side when he feels the pressure weighting down on him, the tightness inside his pants as he moves one leg over the other in attempt to switch sides. His hand closes reflexively around his pillow, and with the other he raises the blanket slowly, pushing it back frustrated when he confirms the nature of his irritation. 

It doesn’t happen often for him to wake up with a morning turn-on, and Eren hates being woken up already on the edge. He closes his eyes, willing to wash it away focusing on the tiredness of his muscles, but it does nothing but amplify the need for friction, cock twitching as if sensing it’s being neglected. It's a repetitive thought from the other night, following him through Levi’s moans and back into his own house through the raw process of showering and falling asleep. The stimulation is too much for him, and he doesn’t know whether _this_ is a product of morning arousal or of recent memories; in either case, Eren can’t think of anything other than his next-door neighbor. He shuts his eyes tightly closed, wanting to slump back into sleep. But, rapidly, the other’s body shape craves itself into the darkness, his eyes hidden behind the blindfold and shoulders twitching, mouth trembling and quivering around unsaid words. 

Eren sighs, raising his legs off the bed to keep them closed in hopes it’ll strangle the arousal out, but as he moves upwards, his hips twitch involuntarily, leaving him breathless for a moment, eyes snapping open in shock. 

“Fucking—” he says, spreading his legs a bit wider from each other and focusing his eyes on the wall ahead, as if trying to burn his vision into the other’s room. His hand reluctantly lets go of the blanket, sliding underneath it with slow movements, tracing lightly the exposure of skin over his collarbones and tight chest. He averts his eyes from the wall as he reaches to the base of his hips, almost self-cautious now as he pushes it under his slacks and holds a firm grip around. It's smooth, and hard to the touch, enough so that the first inch of contact made his whole body shiver, fingers closing around it more tightly. He bites his lip to prevent any noises from passing through, breathing steadily from his nose as he moves his hand up and down in slow strokes, pushing the thumb over the head and tracing the side with pressure to help him edge closer to the end. 

His eyes close as a squeeze makes him moan, catching his lip back in between his teeth and biting harder so his other sounds come out muffled. He pushes his head into his pillow, fully turning on his side as he works over himself, knees coming towards his chest and hand pumping fast and hot over him. It's only in the last few moments, but Eren allows his imagination to spiral, lets the image of Levi’s hands covering his own and taking over, fingers delicate and careful tracing the smooth exterior of his sensitive skin. He guides his thumb over the head, sleek with precum and smearing it over the length, imagining the other’s soft lips over him, opening around and over his cock. He whimpers, and with a final harsh squeeze, Eren groans into his pillow, cum spilling over his hand down into his sheets. 

He keeps his eyes closed for longer, faking it on a realistic extent of his dream, but then he blinks awake, eyes quivering towards his still warm hand. He groans, cleaning his palm on his sheets as he pulls a disgusted face and carefully gets up, avoiding the dirty spots while he does so. He gathers his sheets, shoving them into the washing machine and smashing the button to get it started. As he jumps into his shower, the feeling of the other’s hands over his naked skin comes up again like a fever, and Eren shivers, sliding rapidly under the warm water of his showerhead. 

Barely a minute passes by before his cock starts twitching again, as if desperate for more attention to compensate for last night. Eren presses his hands on the wall, gliding his head down as he lets the water run over his back and groans, feeling frustration and arousal both churning inside him. _This_ was not something he would’ve ever expected to came into place. 

Eren tightens his fists against the wall, pressing his forehead against it to cool himself down and whines, drawing his hand back over himself bashfully. 

✦✧✦ 

As it turns out, Eren had woken up to jerk himself off at nearly 5 in the morning. 

He checks the time again after lazing in his bed on social media, and pulls himself up when he realizes it’s nearly 9am. He opens his fridge, taking out the milk carton to test the smell, debating whether it’s good or bad when someone knocks at his door. His heart makes an unnecessary flip as he closes the fridge and skits towards the door, unlocking it with shaky fingers. The hair, the structure of the face and the piercing eyes are the same, but they’re looking back at him from an even level, and Eren almost lets out a disappointed sigh. He lets the door wider for Mikasa to come through, her hands filled with bags, a common sight Eren has grown to anticipate every other weekend. 

Mikasa slides by him, putting the bags on the counter. “Morning, Eren. Have you slept well?” she asks, turning around to look expectedly at him, eyes following his like a hawk. 

Eren rolls his eyes as he locks his door, moving towards her to take out the food from her bags and place it in his kitchen. It's always like this; Mikasa goes shopping early in the morning, saving one bag (usually the green one) for him, and the other packed with things for herself. It came out of the blue one time, and continued on every new week to the point where Eren half-expects her to come by every weekend around the same hour. Today however, and in this moment especially, Eren would’ve much rather be alone with his own thoughts and frustrations. “I slept just fine,” he says, pulling the fridge door open again. 

He closes the fridge with more force, bumping his hip into the door, and Mikasa seems to pick up on his nervousness as well, her hand cupping around his shoulder gently but firm. “Are you alright?” 

Eren turns to look at her over his shoulder, nodding a bit too late for it to be believable. Her hand slides off his shoulder, but her eyes are still firmly following his moves, and Eren is more aware of the still-present shake in his hands, fingers moving giddy over the surfaces around him. 

“You look fidgety.” Mikasa notices, and Eren tries to hide his head away when a blush starts to form on the top layers of his cheeks, hot and heavy. “It has something to do with that Ackerman neighbor, doesn’t it?” she asks, a bite clear in her tone. Her and Levi have the same name, and it’s always been something that bugged Eren and angered Mikasa to no end. She always uses his name like an insult, spat out with anger as if it has no similarity to her own family name, though the reason behind it is still a mystery. Eren jolts at the name however, throat clenching tight, and he doesn’t look at her when he responds. 

“Why would you think of him as the first _suspect_?” he asks, moving the plates needlessly around to give him something to do other than look back at her. 

Mikasa sighs heavily behind him, sounding as if she’s fuming from inside-out. “Because that shorty has something weird about him, Eren. I don’t know what it is but I can feel it, and I don’t like it. From day one I felt like something was odd about him. You should keep your distance.” 

Eren bit his lip from saying anything. He has a fairly good guess on what would be classified as odd when it comes to Levi now, and it’s not really something he’d think Mikasa would take into consideration. The range of her suspicions go from drug dealer to serial killer, which is a bit extreme even coming from someone like Eren. The issue about keeping distance however, is stepped all over by his newly goal of making the other accept him as a partner—sexually, not in any other type of way. And Mikasa would surely lose her mind if she ever found out about that. 

“It’s kind of hard doing that considering him and I live next to each other.” he says instead, finally closing his closet and turning with a smile when he could feel his face cooling down. 

Mikasa groaned under her breath, the tell-tail of “Fucking short-ass,” coming quietly from her lips as she moved towards the fridge to take out ingredients for breakfast. 

Eren could feel something nudging the back of his mind as he watched, the reminder of what Levi had said about him not being even an _okay_ cook coming through his mind like a flashback. He took the milk and eggs from her hands before Mikasa could go anywhere with them, catching her by surprise as he moved around the counter in search for the flour. “I’ll make pancakes today. You go and run a movie or something till I'm done.” he says. 

Mikasa hovers around the fridge, her hands still clasping around empty air. “Do you know how to make pancakes?” she asks, genuinely confused, and Eren groans, poking his head out from the drawer to look her in the eyes. 

“Of _course_ I know how, Mikasa!” 

Her hands raised up defensively, lips edging towards a soft smile as she looked down at him. “Just asking.” she said, before leaving towards the living room in silence. The tv started with a delay, and Eren begun the process of making the pancakes with the news program on and thoughts still livid in the back of his mind. 

When he’s done however, and him and Mikasa are enjoying the breakfast together, Eren thumps his foot nervously on the floor. He's annoyed by the fact that _no,_ this food isn’t as great as he’d hoped it would be and _yes,_ Levi can definitely make better food than him. When he thinks it that way, it’s easier to understand why Mikasa holds such a consistent hate towards him. 

✦✧✦ 

Eren stacks the cigarettes packs on the counter, moving them in the order of their labels as he waits for new costumers. The early days of the week are always the lazier ones, with barely twenty people coming in and out of the shop. He’d rounded the aisles before, making sure there’s no mistake into the order of the products on the shelves, knowing Reiner has the bad habit of getting everything messed up when he’s supposed to _arrange_ things. He puts his cheek into the pad of his palm, moving the packs with one hand and trimming his fingers over his face with the other. There are less than thirty minutes till his lunch break, and Eren wants more than anything to run away from the enclosed space of his cashier counter. 

He's hungry, stomach growling, and he’s mindlessly thinking about a soup serving when someone comes by his counter, placing a bag in front of him. He blinks rapidly, gazing back at the woman before him, her hair long and bright blonde held up high into a ponytail with glossy lips smiling broadly at him. Eren shakes his thoughts away and gives her a smile of his own, starting to unpack the items to get them through the register. 

The woman folds her hands on the counter, looking up at him as he gets through her items one by one. “You’re so young,” she says. Eren gives her a side look; she doesn’t seem any older than himself, maybe even younger with a few years. 

He resumes his work as he says, “Fresh out of college.” as if it’ll explain his job as an employ in a convenience shop. 

The girl laughs, pushing her bags out of her eyes with one smooth flick of her wrist; “Too bad. Most of the guys from my college don’t look half as good as you do.” she says, eyes quickly passing from his face to the rest of his body visible over the counter. 

Eren stops and raises an eyebrow at her, watching her smile widening sharper on her lips. “Oh, thank you! I mean I knew I am good looking but I didn’t know I hold that much potential.” he laughs, moving backwards as he puts the items back into the bag and says the price out loud for the girl to hear. 

She searches through her bag for a while, as he tries to fit the tuna package back along with the others. The girl slides her hand towards him as she goes for the bag with the other, leaning over the counter for support; “You can show me how much potential you have.” she says, her fingers brushing on his own as she grips the handles of the bag. “Does clubbing work for you?” 

Eren frowns down at her, freeing his hand when he slips it from underneath her own and hiding it back into his pocket. “Work for what? What you’re talking about?” he says, watching as her smile turns from alluring to confused, her mouth making a twitch as it falls into a pout. Eren frowns, even more confused, and looks down at the money left in front of him, taking them up to count in silence; “This is enough. Thank you for coming.” he says smiling, and the moment he stops talking, the girl’s eyes narrow dangerously. She pushes herself from the counter with a huff, walking firmly towards the exit as Eren lets out a “Have a nice day,” that sounded more like a question than a wish. 

He eyes the door a few moments after the girl leaves in an angered hurry, when Annie says from his back, “Wow. No wonder you’re shit at relationships.” 

Eren snaps his head back at her, frustration quickly boiling under his skin like a switch being turned on. “Do _you_ know what she was talking about?” 

“Of course.” Annie shrugs, pressing her shoulder into the frame of the door as she raises her chin so she’ll appear taller than she normally is. She does that often, Eren acknowledged, as if wanting to surpass the dominance of the room she’s into. Her neck seems longer from all the times she’s done it till now. “She wanted to get into your pants, clear as the day. Even Reiner would’ve figured it out, and he’s the king of misdirect.” 

Eren closed his mouth, still halfway through his confusion as he looked at her. “Well, she wasn’t my type anyway.” he says, stepping away from the counter and towards her to get through the back door. 

“Do you _have_ a type?” Annie laughs behind him as he passes her by, voice tight with disbelief following him as pushes the door open. 

“Yeah, I do!” Eren shouts back at her. And he knows full-heartedly that the girl didn’t fall into any of his categories. He appreciates a reserved person, someone more mysterious, and hard to get—and she clearly didn’t look the type. 

He steps out into the backyard and leans down above the potted plants Reiner insists on keeping even though Annie is the only one who’s actually taking care of them. He takes out the small silver bowl hidden behind the pot and places it down on the sidewalk near the door. He digs his hand into his pocket, taking out the small plastic bag with dog food and shaking it in the air to create a distinct sound. It doesn’t take too long after that for the little puppy to come out from round the corner of the shop, jumping in his way towards him with paws unsteady on the ground as he hurries over. 

Eren holds his hand out and strokes the back of the dog’s ears when he’s close enough, shaking his head when the dog tries to get into his face and lick the side of his cheek. “Calm down, it’s okay Sirius. It's okay, I'm hungry too.” he says, ruffling the black fur from his eyes and raising his hand away to pour down the food into his bowl. The dog barks once, tail wiggling as he dives towards the bowl, and Eren pets the back of his head more as he crouches besides him, throwing the plastic bag into the bin. “Alright, eat well. I'm going out for lunch now too.” he tells him, bopping his head one last time before he raises back up. 

In retrospect however, Levi’s café isn’t a good place to have lunch. He sells only tea and coffee and little patisseries or homemade sandwiches, neither of which could really satisfy the level of hunger he’s having at the moment. Eren though walks into it as if he’s indented to go here from the start, and ignores the possibilities as to why he’s followed his instinct to come here in the first place. He walks through the shop with firm confidence, heading towards the empty side of the room, yet purposely avoiding looking around, too self-cautious about the other’s presence in the tight space. 

He hasn’t seen Levi for four days. Hasn’t heard anything from him, nor text or phone call or personal visit to his own house. And whilst that isn’t necessarily something that would’ve bothered him at any other given time, it _does_ bother him now, when he knows he wants an answer for his question. The worse part in all of this is that the last time he’s seen him—the time when Eren asked if he wants to be partners—Levi neither seemed like he’d deny nor accept. It was all under the layer of probability and anticipation, but the more time passed, the more uncertain Eren became with the probable result. 

Levi doesn’t _have_ to accept him as a partner. They aren’t close to each other, and they’ve gotten involved into this level of closeness only because Eren wanted to try something new, and Levi was willing to be the person to first guide him through the wide subclasses of bdsm—something he would’ve never even considered as the reason to bring them together. And Levi still is insufferable, still the same stoic, cold and irritating neighbor he’s had for years, but now to that is added the extent of his character he’s gotten to see lately. He knows Levi can be caring and understanding, can be dominating and rough, or vulnerable and breathtaking. He's seen Levi in the way very few probably have ever seen him along the years, and Eren holds some sort of pride into that, just for the sole fact that Levi was capable of letting his guard down for _him_ , lending him in on his trust. 

And the other way around; Levi has been the first to ever see Eren into that type of scenario, gasping around a gag desperately trying to hold himself from coming too fast, fully letting himself vulnerable to the other person. There is trust in their relationship, that’s for sure; and attraction, at least sexual from both sides, but that might not be enough for Levi to level up their status to sexual partners or better-called friends with benefits (though friends is a bit too much of a stretch). 

It's the first time Eren gets to see him after their last night together, hoping actual eye-contact would spur something in them the same way it did the first time. He puts his phone down on the table, looking around the café before his eyes dart towards the counter in search for him, blinking against the full shelves with cakes and machines lined on the counter. Finally, he sees him at the edge, but his eyes narrow when he takes a better view of what he’s seeing, pushing himself a bit to the side to see more clearly. 

There’s Levi leaning against the counter, his hip bumping into the surface and body arching towards the person he’s talking to, almost as if wanting everything that’s being said between them to be kept as a secret. Eren is bothered by that, but what bothers him more is the other man, holding up a soft smile while Levi is talking and looking down at him with wide and blue eyes, light brown edging on the ends of his eyelashes. His hand is hovering near Levi’s forearm, as if considering whether to grab it or lowering it back to his side, and Eren watches the flex of his fingers for a while, focused on the move of his hand until it finally comes around Levi’s arm to squeeze it. His chest tightens unexpectedly, his own hands bawling into fists on the table. 

When he looks back at their faces, the blue-eyed man looks concerned, a frown shading his soft demeanor from earlier. He says something, and Levi shakes his head, then hangs it low over his chest and—why isn’t he making any move to shove the other man’s hand off him? 

He's frowning, mouth in a tight line as he watches, and then suddenly Levi turns as he’s shaking his head, eyes skimming through the café and landing directly on him. They widen, eyebrows raised high up over his forehead and mouth still opened around the words he was saying before, and Eren sees the man’s hand gripping around his arm more firmly, lips forming Levi’s name. Levi's eyes narrow at that, still looking at him, lips coming together in a straight line, and Eren turns his head around before he can see anything else. It's already enough to form quite a clear idea of who the guy might be. 

He raises one of his arms to bring it flush over his lips, looking at the other side out the window but barely keeping his attention on it as he focuses on the strange mix of feelings within himself. He forces his mind to blank out, debating whether to stay or leave now that he’s been caught in this unexpected position. 

He thinks about taking his leave and going to an actual restaurant when he hears steps coming his way. At this point he expects it to be anyone but Levi, yet as he looks out from the corner of his eyes, he sees the other approaching with slow steps, keeping his black notepad in his hands and eyes trained on him as if anticipating him leaving at any second. Eren doesn’t however; he holds his wrist over his lips, looking out the window again and waiting for the other to come next to his table, ready to take his order. 

Levi stops with an audible sigh. “Eren,” he says after a short while, opening up his notepad and clicking the lid of the pen. “What can I get for you?” 

Eren moves his gaze towards him, eyebrows still lightly furrowed. He slides his arm back on the table, closing both hands around each of his elbows and hunching over the table as he says, “Just a green tea latte with a cinnamon bagel, Levi.” His name came out almost like a razor-deep cut, slashing through his words like an insult much like Mikasa does with their shared family name. Levi frowns back at him as he takes note of his order, one side of his mouth twitching as if uncertain whether to smile or grimace. 

“So is he,” Eren started, unable to keep himself in focus, with no filter to contain him from keeping shut; “That guy,” he explains, nudging his head towards where Levi and him were standing earlier, and he can see the change in his expression, the curious glimmer forming in Levi’s eyes. “is he your current partner?” he finally asks, and he’s glad with how even his voice came out in the end. 

Levi sighs as he closes the notepad in his face and taps the pen shut on it. “I don’t have any partner at the moment.” he says, and keeps his feet steady as they look at each other. Levi's eyes blink slowly, holding his gaze without breaking it, and the intensity alone is enough to make him shiver, tightening his hands around the flesh of his arms. And with that, Levi’s mouth makes a side-smirk for only a short second, turning around suddenly just as quietly. Eren watches him go, eyes frowned in confusion until Levi disappears into the storage room, out of his sight. 

He clears his head in slow motion, tabbing away on different apps on his phone as he waits for Levi to come back. A part of his mind is still fixated on _them_ however; if it’s true and Levi doesn’t have a partner, then who could that man be, and why was he so touchy with the other? The issue of boyfriend doesn’t come into discussion, but there’s not much left that Eren can think about involving that level of leisure from the other towards anyone else. 

He's still thinking about it looking absently at his screen when Levi comes back with his order, hot tea still fuming with stream as he places it down under his nose. Eren puts his phone down and thanks him, cupping his fingers around the handle of the mug when Levi says, “Come to mine tonight, if you can.” 

Eren nearly drops the mug over the table, snapping his head towards him only to see his back retreating again with a much faster pace in his steps, as if wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. He blinks down at his green tea, seeing the faded reflection of his face gazing back at him with enlarged eyes, and his lips twitch and raise into a smile, chest tightening excitedly. 

✦✧✦ 

The problem is that Levi hadn’t given him an hour. Eren started pacing around his living room from 7 in the evening, uncertain whether to knock on his door now or wait until after the other would’ve had his dinner. He knows _when_ Levi gets home from work usually, but he doesn’t know when he goes to bed—which now that he’s thinking about it, it’s quite irresponsible knowing that he sometimes blasts music at late hours. 

He takes out the food from his fridge, microwaving it to eat something before going to the other’s house. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be staying there, if he has to anticipate anything in particular happening or go in with head clear and no expectations. His chest tightens more when he thinks about the main reason Levi would want to talk to him in the secluded space of his own house, and it burns him from within with fear and giddiness for whatever Levi is going to say to him. Whatever he’s going to decide for _them_. 

Around 9pm he walks out of his door and heads straight for Levi’s. He hovers around it, pacing for a bit before it and counting in his head till ten for several times before he gains enough courage to knock. It's light and almost fearful, but it’s clear enough on the other side. 

Levi opens his door moments after, his eyes catching his own the minute Eren looks through the crack. He lets the door slide wider, his other hand closed around the lip side of a mug as he welcomes him in wordlessly. Eren smiles sheepishly, going in and taking off his shoes at the entrance, letting the other walk back from where he came. 

“Would you like anything to eat?” Levi asks from the kitchen, his voice ringing smooth and clear around the room, as if belonging within its space. 

Eren settles on the couch, his legs folding one over the other. “No, thank you. I already ate.” he says, leaning back as he waits for the other to come sit by him. When Levi does come back, he holds out to him a fresh mug with tea, his own being already on the table. He thanks him as he takes the mug by the handle, and watches as Levi places down on the table between them a sheet of paper, sitting down next to him and taking his tea again. Eren sips once, putting the mug down carefully and holding out the papers instead. “What’s this? More paperwork?” he asks, looking sideways at the other before he starts to actually read the contains written on it. 

“It’s the list I've talked about with you.” Levi says before he could get to understand any meanings of what’s written down. Eren looks at him quizzically, his eyebrow raised making Levi sigh, his breath visible against the stream of his tea. “The rules list.” he explains, and Eren frowns confused before it all clicks into place. His eyes widen, cheeks faded with a light shade of pink as he moves back to read over the first few lines again, making it all clearer now. 

Still, when he actually reads the rules with the meaning behind them in his mind, it doesn’t make any sense. He sits back into the couch as he brings the paper over his face and starts reading aloud from it, quoting whatever Levi had written with a strained voice. 

“Don’t search within drawers without asking, don’t leave any mess behind, if asked to clean don’t whine—the _hell?_ Don’t use anything from the kitchen, don’t use—Levi. This feels like signing a restraining order.” he says outraged, flickering the page to the other side to see the rows of rules on there as well. 

Levi shrugs, holding his mug with both hands as he leans down into the couch with him. “I have to keep _you_ under control in _my_ house. Read the other too.” he advices, and Eren turns the page again with a huff, holding his legs up and sinking down into the couch as he reads with the paper inches away from his face. 

And in truth, after the seven or so first rules, Eren can clearly feel the change of tone in the others. They're based more on the care during and after the scenes, on limitations and consent. There are rules that Eren knew already as common knowledge such as _say you want to stop when it’s too much, don’t dive into the more complex side of things until you’re familiar with the basis,_ or _don’t rush into something just because you want to._ And on the other side are others, even more surprising than the first, such as _if you want to eat something afterwards, don’t hesitate to say_ or _take showers if you feel like you need it;_ which seem so out of character that it’s hard to think Levi was the one to write something like that. Or in the very least, it’s out of the character Eren had portraited the other to have throughout the years, maybe not the one he’s starting to discover now. 

Slowly, after reading and re-reading the list, he lowers it down from his face, turning to look up at the other. Levi has been watching from the corner of his eyes, his eyebrows narrowing just the tiny bit when Eren catches his sight. He holds the paper up; “So, then. Does this mean...” he lets his words fade away unsaid, holding their meaning into the air to hover above. 

Levi shifted in his seat, closing his eyes tightly and blinking them open again at him. He nods slowly, and that’s all Eren needs for confirmation. 

He gives him a side-ways smirk, pushing himself up and leaning towards him with hands fisted into one of his couch pillows. “Answer this honestly. You _want_ to be partners?” 

Levi looks back at him, his shoulders still a little stiff. He holds his gaze, tongue running over dry lips and Eren follows the action deliberately, raising his hooded eyes back at him. 

“We can try.” 

Eren holds his even gaze for a while longer, smirk stretching wide into a soft smile. He puts the papers down on the table rapidly and pushes himself onto his knees, lunging himself towards him with his whole body and pressing his back into the couch. Levi holds out his hands, taken by surprise as he steadies them over his hips. Eren moves with his new support holding him up as he swings one leg over his lap and closes the gap between them, arms tight around his stiff shoulders, head buried in the crack of his neck. His breath is hot and tingling over his own skin, broken, as if Levi has trouble keeping his breathing in check. 

His hands are solid and firm on his hips, still as if wanting to push him away and pull him in closer at the same time. Eren moves his head to the side, touching the bridge of his nose onto the cold exposure of his skin, and Levi tenses up under him immediately, holding his breath yet loosening the grip of his hands. He invites him in almost, and Eren pushes himself more into his lap, gliding his head up and down to nuzzle against him gradually. 

“Thank you,” he breathes after a short while, word muffled into the other’s skin. 

Levi shifts, his thighs flexing under the press of his own; “It’s nothing to get too emotional about,” he huffs, one hand edging to go upper over his back, tracing his fingers over the base of his spine. 

Eren shakes his head, lips barely brushing the side of his earlobe. “It is because it proves to me that you trust me.” he says soft as a murmur against him. And then he swallows down his words, saying, “And, it means I'll get to have awesome sex for an unlimited amount of time.” 

Levi huffs a laugh, shoulders shaking under his arms with resilience. Eren closes his lips against his skin, formed into a still lingering smile, smelling the fresh lavender from Levi’s washed hair dripping over the corner of his cheek. _This_ is happening; this sort of partnership between them starts _now,_ and Eren had made a promise to himself for when and if they’ll get here—he won’t waste the time. He would brush away certain aspects and enjoy the present, because neither of them can know when this deal will be broken in the future. There's no point in not having a bit of fun as long as it lasts. 

On the long set of rules, one of the few underlined is _no kissing,_ yet it doesn’t mention anything about any parts other than on the lips. Eren breathes in to boost his confidence, straddling himself on Levi’s lap as he turns his head fully to the side and opens his lips on his skin, tracing them lightly over the length of it until he reaches the top of his collarbone, and then up again, slow and rhythmic. Levi's hands on his hips tighten their grip once again, head moving to the side in order to get away from his lips. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice tight and struggling to come out with no layer of shock attached to it. 

Eren pulls away enough to come face to face with him, maintaining their eyes on the same level as he says clearly; “Enjoying the moment.” 

Levi’s eyes flicker over his own, teeth sinking into his bottom lip and soon releasing it as if self-cautious about his own actions. Eren huffs the beginning of a laugh, guiding his hand over the curve of his neck with fleeting fingers, trimming over the sensitive skin. He sees the other closing his eyes tentatively, slowly leaning into his touch and giving him more access, his throat throbbing with the weight of a heavy sigh. 

He lets his hand fall to the side, kissing the bare space between his neck and shoulder and then sliding up on his skin, nipping from place to place when Levi stops to catch his breath. His teeth graze against his skin, lips pressing firmly in the back of his ear, under his jaw and down over the full shape of it as his hands close in fists around his shirt, almost bringing him up towards him when Levi sinks back too low. He follows the line of his bone, tracing his hot tongue over the skin to feel the other shiver, and when he reaches high at the base of his jaw again, Levi’s hips almost thrust back into his own, and Eren snaps his mouth shut in reflex, biting down hard around the skin. Levi gasps clear and high-pitched, his hand over the back of his spine pressing fingers deep into his flesh. “Rule twenty-two, no marks.” Levi says breathlessly, his thighs shaking underneath him as Eren holds his lips still hovering around the freshly swollen skin. 

He blinks a few times rapidly, trying to remember where he is and to steal his hips from grinding against the other’s. With delay, he lets out a rough-sounding chuckle, running his tongue over the bite to ease it from darkening. Levi’s jaw comes shut tightly, his neck straining as Eren works his tongue over him with slow strokes, pressing his lips in a soft and tiny kiss at the end before he leans away. 

His eyes come into focus leisurely, and when they do, Eren stares down at Levi’s hooded and dark eyes, glossy with lust, cheeks flushed and dark red. His mouth is parted, and his lips are visibly swollen and bitten, gasping hard and shakily so that his breath hits his skin in waves of heat. 

Eren unclenches one of his hands to bring it lower on the trace of his body, leaning inches more into his space. He hides his head into the crock of his neck, forehead over the heated skin as his palm presses on Levi’s lap over his groin, pushing it enough to feel the hardness forming underneath the layers. The other gasps trembling under him, hips moving upwards on instinct when Eren closes his fingers around him through the pants and strokes absently, the pad of his wrist pressing on the base to form some sort of a heavier friction. 

His wrist is caught after a short while, fingers firm around it as he yanks his hand away. When Eren raises his head back to look again, Levi looks even more like a mess than before, with saliva slowly starting to trail down from the corners of his mouth. He struggles to say something, but the words are caught up in his throat, too heavy to get out. Eren pulls himself off from his lap, feeling the back of his thighs getting cold immediately as if seeking the warmth of the other’s body, and Levi blinks rapidly as he frowns at him, looking confused by his sudden retreat. 

He catches the sides of his chin with his free hand, holding his head up and barely inches from his own as he says, “Do you want to do anything today? Or should we make a schedule for our mutual sexual life?” 

Levi's eyes widen, and then the light in them dims down to darkness as he looks at him. “Now.” he says, and it feels and sounds like a demand, pulling Eren’s muscles into motion as soon as the word gets pass his lips. 

Eren jumps off the couch, the back of his legs knocking into the table behind them. He pulls Levi by his arm, waits until the other is in the process of fully getting up and then he brings his other arm around his thigh. It's making the other lose his balance as he pulls him up and saves his fall by clasping his other hand under his ass, sliding it to the back of his thigh. Levi brings both arms around his neck, bringing his face into his chest as Eren carries him down the hall, the walk towards Levi’s bedroom stocked into his mind already. 

Levi's fingers dig into his shoulder blades, tightening his legs around his waist as Eren pulls the door open with his elbow, supporting the other over his chest. His voice is tight when he shouts, “Put me down, fucking brat!” and Eren laughs clear and loud into his ear, pushing the door open with his back and closing it again with the back of his heel. 

He feels the other squirming in his arms, thighs closing painfully around his waist as he starts slipping off from him. Eren clasps both hands over the backs of his asscheeks, pushing himself up to pull him from his chest enough to look down into his eyes, finding them harder into the dim lightning of Levi’s bedroom. When he sees the sparkle of Levi’s eyes, Eren smiles smugly, hiking his hands around his hips and thrusting him back into the bed with unexpected force, the sound of the other falling over the sheets making the bed underneath creak. 

Levi gasps as if pulling himself from under the water, holding himself up on his elbows and blinking hard as Eren comes on the bed after him, sliding towards the other on the sheets. He brings both hands at the sides of his chest, knees catching the other’s hips underneath, and he leans down over him, noses so close to each other that they’re nearly bumping together. 

There’s a level of fear in Levi’s eyes, or warning; Eren can’t really say when the shadows block any other feature from his view. He feels the other’s hands coming up around his forearms, keeping him at a reasonable distance away but not pushing—not willing to let the other pull away from him. 

Eren fists his hands around the sheets at his waist, tilts his head to the side as he takes the other in and watches the bob of his throat working as he swallows. “What do you want to do, Levi?” 

“I—” he starts, chocking on an inhale. Levi closes his eyes tightly, clearing his throat sternly before he blinks back at him, eyes clearer in the dim of lighting. “What are you comfortable in trying right now?” 

Eren leans away from him until he’s standing straight on his knees, supporting himself over Levi’s thighs. He brings a hand over his hair to ruffle it through, looking sideways as he tries to gather up his thoughts. “I mean, I think I'll be fine with whatever as long as you are, and we’re not taking it too far.” he says, looking back at him to see whether he agrees or not. Levi looks up at him with an open expression, his mouth set in a straight line and eyes blank of any emotion other than curiosity and a hint of yearning. His cheeks, even in the dark room are glistening red, and he imagines that if he were to reach out to him and touch them, the skin would burn his fingertips. He runs his tongue inside his mouth, biting the inside of his cheek; “You have ice, don’t you?” 

Levi raised an eyebrow at him, eyes glimmering. “Yes?” 

“Great.” he said, jumping off of Levi’s thighs and crawling down from the bed. “I’ll go get that, you take out the glass things since it’s apparently _forbidden_ for me to touch your drawers.” he slid off the bed and rushed towards the door, ignoring the snort Levi let out before repeating “ _Glass things?”_ at his retreating back. 

He walked into the kitchen, opening the freezer in search for ice cubes which he put into a small bowl. He then moved towards the sink to turn the tap on, filling in a glass of relatively hot water, taking both as he walked back towards the bedroom with his heart thudding powerfully over his stern. As he opened the door wider with his foot, his eyes fell on the other’s clear view of his bare chest, muscles structured smoothly into the bathe of moonlight. His skin is shining silver, features visible even from where Eren is standing staring back at him, and when he follows the source of the light, he sees the blinds over the window pulled up, letting in the gleam from the outside. 

“I thought you’d hate seeing what’s happening in your scenes. Was I wrong about that?” he asks as he approaches the nightstand, putting the bowl and glass next to the glass wand that Levi took out from his drawer. Levi moved to the side to let him stand on the edge of the bed, pushing himself into the pillow while following his movements. The line of his body is clearer than Eren had ever seen it be, and there’s a pull into his muscles, wanting to reach out and trace his shapes as if it’s his first time touching them. 

Levi shrugs; “I want to see more now.” he explains, and then huffs as he turns on his back, eyes staring absently at the ceiling above. Eren's hand stilled over the bowl, fingers numb as he watched his profile, the clear cut of his jaw and the faded red in his cheekbones. 

He pushed himself on his palms to crawl back over the other, trapping him in again between his arms and thighs, seeing the moment Levi’s eyes feel on his own as if drawn towards them. His right palm moved over his chest, tracing fingers down fleeting as the other blinked rapidly to keep himself from shivering at the barely pressuring sensation. His other hand reached out for the bowl, catching one ice cube between his fingers and bringing it up over his mouth, circling it around to test the coldness on his lips. He lowered the ice cube, Levi’s eyes fixated on his own as he asked, “Ready?” And Levi nodded, lowering himself more into the bed to find the most comfortable position as Eren held onto him with a warm hand over his hip. He pulled his hand away from his mouth, steading a frown down at the other; “I need to hear an answer, Levi.” 

The other’s eyes flushed for barely a moment, skin trembling under Eren’s fingers. He swallowed, the bob of his throat visible and defined into the moonlight. “Yeah, I'm ready Eren. Jesus, just do something already.” he sighed, boarding on exasperation, and Eren huffed a laugh, bringing the ice cube quickly in between his teeth and pushing himself up to hover over his chest. He pressed the ice over the tilt between his shoulder and neck, guiding it down slowly over his collarbone and straight over the middle of his chest, hearing the quick beating of his heart from the close proximity, his head tilting towards it to hear the change of its pacing. Levi isn’t shivering—he holds himself through the process, body still and numb under him, but his breath catches, rough and quivery in his throat. 

Eren lowered his mouth from his chest, tracing the outline of his muscles and pressing harder the further he goes, enough so the ice starts melting against his skin. He feels Levi jerk as he guides the ice near his hipbones, a shaky whine pushing through his lips, and Eren moves the ice away upwards again, moving it on the other side. When it’s half-way melted, he touches the tip of his tongue below it to follow the trail of cold with another one of warmth. He passes the ring of his nipple, letting the ice roll on its own towards his neck as he follows it with his tongue, lips pressing over his skin, and that’s when Levi trembles fully, his muscles straining and throat spasming with a low and dragged moan. It filled his ears when he reached with his mouth close to the back of Levi’s jaw, and Eren nipped the skin there lightly, not to leave a visible mark but enough to give satisfaction to the sensation. 

He raised himself up, trailing his free hand from Levi’s neck down to his hip in one smooth and slow move to feel the ice on his own fingertips, and then he gripped the front of his pants, curving his fingers underneath. “Levi,” he said to the other, watching the slight frown he had on his forehead, head thrown back and chest heaving. When he came back, eyes rolling open towards him, Eren tugged on his pants, forcing his body to slide more over the sheets. “Raise your hips.” 

The other huffed, pushing the heels of his feet into the bed to help himself raise. Eren moved one hand on his lower back to keep himself up, fastening his slacks with the other and rolling them off, Levi pulling his legs out with rapid movements. His hands came back over his thighs to still them down, teeth gripping the upper side of his underwear and pulling it down all the way. 

“Give me another ice cube.” he says as he folds Levi’s clothes and puts them aside. When he turns to him, the other is already holding the cube to him, eyes hooded and half closed under the waterfall of his hair. Eren takes it with a soft “ _thank you,”_ trailing it lightly with his hand over the skin on his thighs and curving it underneath his knee before he takes it in his mouth from there, pressing his nose into him as he bobs his head. The ice melts easier, and Eren can feel the cold trails of water on his hand from where he holds onto him, sliding the ice cube upwards until it reaches the inner side of his thigh, closer to the hip. Levi shivers, his hips jolting from the bed, and then Eren moves his head to the other side, using what’s left of the ice cube to cover the length of his other thigh as well. He trailed the ice with his teeth until it had completely melted on the other’s skin, closing his lips over his flesh in order to wipe his tongue over the inside of his mouth to warm it up a bit before he followed the rest of the trail with his own lips. His tongue moved over the inside of his thigh briefly, followed by a firmer bite of his teeth, and Levi gasped hard at that, raising his hips towards him and pushing him away with his knee pressing on the side of his ribs. 

He pushed his foot back on the bed, pulling his knees together as if to cover himself up from the other, blinking his eyes open to stare at him with a cold expression. “I told you not to try to give me bite marks.” he said through his teeth, barely keeping his voice controlled as his hands shook at his sides around the sheets. 

Eren frowned, cupping the side of his thigh firmly before slapping it hard enough for the sound to resonate in the whole room. Levi let out a quiet whimper, his legs pushing against each other more and blocking his view with his knees. Eren hooks his fingers around the back of his thigh, pressing his fingertips in as he spreads it enough to lean over him and say in a hushed and unyielding tone, “Keep your legs _fucking_ open.” 

Levi's eyes widened, his shoulders shaking as he gave out a thudding moan, and Eren could feel the skin on his own back shivering, his hand tightening with white-knuckles around him. At that, Levi shifted so he could raise his hips, spreading his legs numbly until they touched the lean face of the bedsheets, his eyes rolling back as he closed them tightly. “Sorry.” he breathed out, biting his lip afterwards as Eren raised an eyebrow at him, mind spiraling. 

“Look at you,” Eren started, yet his own voice was strained and raw, words coming out with a heavy delay from his lips. “so eager.” Levi whined, pressing his feet into the bed to raise his hips towards him again, as if showing what Eren’s demanding voice is doing to him. His cock is strained hard, precum spilling over the head and down onto his hips, and Eren doesn’t know for how long it’s been like this, for how much Levi had to endure the shocks of his arousal. 

Eren's breath hits warm over it, lining his lips close to the base. He runs his tongue over the clear outline, reaching the top with shaky lips curving them around and releasing it with a heavy pop. “So eager for me,” he whispered against his skin, trimming his lips over the length of it slowly and keeping his ears open to any sounds the other might make, huffing out his ragged breathing. 

Levi whimpered again as his lips barely missed the center of his entrance, voice faint and broken when he said “More,” letting out a groan at the end of the word. 

And Eren doesn’t need more than that. He pushes himself away from where he was hovering over, placing the glass wand into the water, checking with his fingertips around the glass if it’s still hot enough to warm the item. He trims his fingers over Levi’s hipbones as he waits, leaning down to skim his lips over the exposure of his neck where the moon kisses his skin in silver colors. Levi jerks at the touch again, as if unfamiliar with the affection, but his muscles relax under him almost immediately after, his hands going around his back for support as heavy fingers dig into the skin of his shoulder blades. He can feel Levi’s hands shaking as Eren kisses him on both sides of his neck, slightly trembling until he brings them into fists in Eren’s hair, tugging back so harshly that Eren’s head is thrown backwards, forcing a low moan from the back of his throat. When they meet eyes again, Levi smirks at him, one eyebrow raised as he ruffles his fingers in his hair and tugs on it again, making him blink rapidly in pleasure. 

“Hair pulling kink? Really, that’s so typical.” Levi says, eyes shining gray against the dim of light. 

Eren rolls his eyes, pushing himself off from the other. “Shut up,” he says, reaching towards the glass wand to take it out. He tests it on the back of his wrist, feeling the warmth spreading underneath his skin, and then he places it over Levi’s neck, holding it like a dagger over his throat. “Too hot?” he asks, looking down at him with lips stretching in a smile. 

Levi shakes his head, eyes still hovering over him. He brings his hand around it to take the wand from Eren’s hand, nudging his head towards him and swallowing before he asks, “Don’t you want to take your shirt off?” 

Eren stumbles over his first words, eyes going down over Levi’s full bared body before he can feel self-cautious and averts his eyes to the side. “Why would you ask that?”

Truth is, Eren prefers it without the clothes in the way. He likes the actual friction, the skin on skin interaction, and he hates being heated underneath the layers of clothing, brushing irritatingly over him. That however speaks intimacy, and he remembers how surprised Levi had looked like the other time when he took his shirt off, maybe unfamiliar with the course of his actions. He doesn’t want to make this uncomfortable for him, and yet— 

“You’re more comfortable without it.” Levi says, moving his eyes on the ceiling when he continues with, “And I don’t mind.” 

Eren looked down at him for a while, confirming the other has no hold-backs. When he sees no change in his features, he straightens himself up as he throws his shirt over his head, reaching out fast towards the wand in the other’s hand. Levi moved it from his reach, eyes falling on his shirt and then up on his again; “The shirt.” was all he said, and Eren groaned under his breath as he turned to fold it with shaky fingers, putting it away and returning at the other. 

He gave him the glass wand, pushing himself lower on the bed with legs spread for him to crawl in between. Eren stroked the base of his cock before going down over his sensitive ring of skin, circling it smoothly before pushing one finger raw inside. Levi’s body convulsed at the intrusion, a moan spilling out of his throat, and Eren took it out quickly, patting the side of his thigh as an apology before reaching out towards the nightstand to find the bottle of lube. He smears it down on his fingers, pushing inside him languidly and curving his fingertips against his walls until he reached up to his knuckles, stealing and waiting for the other to accommodate. 

It doesn’t take long at all however; Levi starts moving his hips the second after Eren stopped moving, thrusting them back over his hand and pushing him even deeper. Eren touches his second fingertip along the ring of his entrance, watching as he other opens his mouth wordlessly and arches his back. He pushes in with the other, parting them inside to touch both walls and widen the space within, lube slowly dripping from his wrist and onto the other’s thighs, 

When the stretch is wide enough, Eren takes his fingers out, wiping them on the sheets before he grabs the glass wand in his other hand and pushes the head of it pass his entrance. It fills it whole, warm even on his fingertips, and Levi lets out a chocked sound as he guides it deeper inside, feeling the other’s thighs trembling around his sides. He starts putting more momentum in his movements, thrusting the glass wand in and out of the other’s entrance and putting more force with each flick of his wrist. He sees Levi’s chest heaving uncontrollably, huffs of breath leaving his mouth rhythmically. Eren switches his other hand up towards the center of his chest, weighting him down on the bed as he pushed and pulled inside him, feeling his heart beating like rapid fire. 

“Come on,” Eren groaned, shifting himself on his knees to bring himself closer, and in the moment that his hip pressed into Levi’s thigh, he let out a high moan, biting back on his lip to keep any other sounds from following. He's hard, though that would’ve been a given by now. Still, with the way Levi looks and the warmth spreading on his hands from his heated body develop this state of hardness too much to bear, especially now that he’s fully aware of it. He tries to move his hips away, but instead of keeping them at a distance, they move forwards following the push of a thrust, stopping dangerously close to Levi’s own hips. 

The other blinks his eyes open at the sound of his strained breathing, and Eren tries to hide his face away, shaking his head to let hair fall over his eyes and cheeks. It’s sudden and unexpected, but Levi raises one of his thighs to bring between his own, pushing it hard over him and guiding it down so Eren could hop over it. He snaps his eyes at him, but Levi has his eyes only barely open, watching him through heavy eyelashes, and there’s not much to take away from how little he can clearly see. 

He chooses to entrust in the other, and pushes his weight over Levi’s thigh. He grinds down over it slow and tentative at first, and then when Levi raises his leg into him more, Eren let’s himself go, stroking his hardness against the other’s skin with longer and quicker thrusts. His own hand moves more out of control, focusing on both Levi’s spasms and his own, arching his back when the friction became too intense to hold onto even through the layers of his pants. Eren pushes his head up, his hand over Levi’s chest gripping around the other’s shoulder to dip his fingernails in the flesh as he comes hard, full body shivering in the aftershocks. 

When he hangs his head, Levi’s eyes are widely staring back at him, lip bitten between his teeth and cheeks hot and red. His hands are tight around his own cock, precum dripping and smearing on the backs of his fingers, and he stops when he looks at him, freezing as if being caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. Eren climbs down from his thigh, grimacing at the feeling inside his underwear as he grips the other’s wrists in one of his hands, pushing them all the way over the other’s head and gripping his fingers tight around to keep them pinned on the bed. “Don’t touch yourself if I’m not telling you to.” he whispers into his ear, sensing the shiver running through Levi’s body on his own skin. 

He positions his other hand around the glass wand again to push it inside slowly, guiding the heat all the way into him. Levi closes his eyes, sigh passing by closed lips and hands closing into fists. Eren pushes it inside him again, firmly and deep, stopping to pull it towards the end slowly and thrusting it back in, Levi’s legs coming to wrap themselves around but halting half-way. He keeps his pace, breathing hard over the other’s shoulder, and the moment Eren dips his head to flick his teeth over his collarbone, Levi’s body twitches, spilling over the side of his hip as he releases with a stifled groan. 

Eren pulls the hot glass wand from his entrance, putting it on the nightstand and stilling the other’s hips with his palm as he releases his wrists from his already red wrists. Levi maintains the same position for longer, eyes tightly shut and mouth still hanging open, so smooth and glistening that it’s hard for Eren to look away. 

He presses his fingers through Levi’s hair, ruffling the strands from his forehead. “You did good.” he tells him, barely hearing the approving sigh the other let out in a hush. “I’ll be right back.” he says, hand freezing in his hair without knowing how it’s better to leave the other until he decides that going through it would probably be the best. He goes into the bathroom, warming up a towel and coming back into the room, catching the other looking back the moment he enters. “Are you okay?” he asks, setting on the edge of the bed and guiding the other’s leg towards him to reach in between and wipe the excess of lube from his skin. 

Levi blinks, looking at him absently before nodding and moving his body enough so Eren can have more access to the sides, resting numbly on the sheets. When Eren is done, he puts the towel into the sink of the bathroom, coming back into the bedroom to help the other up. He hooks only one arm around his thigh when Levi slaps his hand away, sliding his legs off the edge of the bed. “Go take a shower, don’t stand with that cum in your pants. It's disgusting.” Levi says, throwing him his own pair of pants which Eren catches as they hit his chest. 

“ _Hey,”_ he shouts, bowling his hands into fists around Levi’s pants as he frowns. “It’s not _my_ fault I came into my pants!” 

“And who’s fault is that?” 

_You and your sexy ass,_ Eren nearly says, but composes himself before he can get any word out. Instead, he turns on his heels and walks towards the bathroom again, putting his dirty pants next to the sink and starting the water on. He looks into the mirror before stepping into the shower, and he halts when he realizes the state he’s in. His hair is messy and spiky on the ends, pupils still widely dilated and cheeks burning of flaming red. If that’s how Levi saw him every time they’ve done this, Eren might start considering his own wish of becoming partners. “But we are partners now,” he reminds himself, turning his head away from his reflection and stepping shakily into the shower. 

_We are and this could end up badly,_ he thinks, letting the water wash over his back as he scrubs the skin of his inner thighs. It _could,_ and Eren was aware of it from the very start, which might’ve been the same in Levi’s case. The idea of this ruining the bare minimum of friendship they’ve built along the years must’ve been the reason Levi was avoiding him, especially knowing it might involve so many people other than themselves; but right now that’s not something Eren would let to come in between. He wants to enjoy this, as long as it’ll last, as long as Levi would be willing to put up with him and he would be willing to do the same for him. 

Eren thinks about the way Levi sounded and felt under his hands, how he stroked his fingers through his hair and how his skin tasted on his lips; and in the grand scheme of things, enjoying this clearly doesn’t seem so hard. 

He steps out of the bathroom and smells the rich and fresh scent of tea coming from the kitchen. Eren puts his pants into the washing machine, walking with difficulty given the fact that Levi’s pants hold on too tightly around his waist. When he gets into the kitchen, he spots Levi on the other side of the counter, his legs still visibly shaking under him when he moves. 

“You shouldn’t move yet,” Eren tells him as he grabs him around his shoulders and pulls him away from the table. Levi loses his balance only for a moment, steading himself as Eren puts one hand on his hip and guides him towards the couch where a blanket is already thrown over. 

“New rule—stop carrying me around, brat.” Levi tells him, pushing his hands off as soon as he’s close enough to the couch and dropping himself on it with a huff. Eren pulls the blanket around his shoulders, giving him the remote before he walks back into the kitchen to prepare the tea for the both of them. 

When he comes back, the other has the blanket over half of his face, covering himself up as he watches the intro of a movie he’d put on the tv. Eren slides next to him and places the mugs on the table, and as he leans back Levi raises one hand from the blanket, giving him the corner so he could slip underneath with him. He's careful to still keep distance in between, watching the action onscreen with captivation as he feels the other sinking deeper into the couch, making himself comfortable with the mug held tightly in his hands. 

Eren stays for the rest of the whole movie, caught into the story and barely realizing how fast the time had flown away. He puts his empty mug on the table, turning around towards Levi to say that he’s leaving, but his words catch in his throat when he sees the other deeply sleeping, his nose buried under the blanket and tea cold, half-way drunk into his palms. He pushes his elbow into the back of the couch, resting his cheek on his knuckles as he looks down at him. 

Levi looks rested like this, cute almost, with the way his hair falls over the green blanket and the tips of his ears are still vibrant with a light shade of pink. He holds the tea with firm hands, clenching around the mug and he breathes steadily, body raising underneath the blanket with rhythmic beats. He mumbles something, eyebrows frowning and creating a soft crease in between his eyes, and Eren quiets down his laughter before he can wake the other up, pressing the back of his hand against his mouth as he turns away from him. 

His chest clenches unexpectedly, heavy and burning and he brings a hand over his stern to calm his heartbeat, pushing himself from the couch as he unclenches the other’s fingers from the mug and takes his and Levi’s own to wash them into the sink. 

Before he leaves however, he takes of the blanket from him, folding it to the side and putting both hands around him to carry him up. He knows what Levi’s said, but that rule is not on the list—yet—and he can’t bring himself to let Levi sleep like that when he knows he’ll wake up with a painful strain in his neck. He holds the other in his arms, one on the backs of his legs and the other holding him steady over his spine, keeping his face buried into his chest. As he opens the door to the bedroom, Levi jerks into his sleep, sighing over his skin when Eren jolts him around too much in order to push down the handle. He freezes, looking down at him to be sure he doesn’t wake up, barely breathing over the other; and Levi snuggles his head into the crock of his shoulder, breath warm and lips still wet on his skin. Eren shivers, pushing the handle of the door with force and walking more urgently towards the bed to set the other over the fresh sheets carefully, creating distance between them again. 

He covers the other with the blanket, skimming his hand through his hair one more time before he turns to leave. 

Cold fingers grab his wrist, tightening around it, and Eren snaps his head towards the other with his shoulders tense; but Levi is still sleeping, his mouth parted and eyes resting fully closed. Eren watches the side of his face, bathed fully into the silver lighting of the moon curving neatly over the outlines of his features, and his eyes linger on the image of the other sleeping, the tightness in his chest returning like a strong wave. 

It's Levi the one who lets go, his fingers slipping from his wrist and falling over the edge of the bed, leaving blind traces of burned skin behind. Eren holds his wrist in his other hand, turning his head away with a harsh shake as he walks towards the door, without looking behind. 

As he enters his own house, he feels like something is strangely missing, the weight pressing harder over his chest. However, the feeling is quickly replaced by the giddy feeling in the bottom of his belly, sparking inside him with excitement as he walks with a skip into his pace. He's eager for all the things to come, giddy with the prospect of keeping something like this for himself, and he’s looking forward to it even if the other person involved is Levi Ackerman. 

However, maybe that’s exactly what makes this even more alluring. Having to witness the other in so many circumstances, drilling in his irritation before he takes him apart and turns him into a mess, just knowing that it’s _him_ the one seeing Levi like that. 

He climbs back into his own bed, excitement still steaming underneath his skin, and he falls asleep with a shape of a smile on his lips, heart clenching hotly against his stern.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! :))
> 
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